Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

4 reviews

loonysaurus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

kelseyr713's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I came to the realization after finishing that ultimately this sequel doesn’t contain any big mysteries or twists; it’s a character study. Everything big was revealed in the first novel, and this deals with the aftermath of that trauma through the eyes of a few different characters.

I felt that Rachel’s plotline (which mostly took place in the past) was a bit of filler, but was really well done and I absolutely found myself cheering her on.

My stomach was in knots at points from needing to know what happened next! Very difficult to put down. I was very satisfied with the conclusion and it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger this time.

Content warning: rape (specifically spousal rape)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Stalking, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Racism, Xenophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder

librariangeorgia's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I honestly feel honoured to have gotten a copy of this arc - it’s one of the few 2022 titles I was highly looking forward to reading. 

 

I’ll be honest, it took me a few chapters to get into this one. But that is purely because it’s been so long since I read the first book, that I’d forgotten what had happened and ended up rereading the last couple of chapters of THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS. 

 

After that, I absolutely flew through this. I found it gripping and it really kept me guessing, especially with there being multiple perspectives from different time periods that haven’t been made clear as to how they are linked. 

 

There were a lot of references in the first quarter to the previous book which really helped to refresh my memory as to who all the characters were (and there’s quite a few!) and what had happened to them but it wasn’t too obvious what was being done. 

 

I am so glad to get the full story as to what happened in THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS and to see how their lives progressed after it. Getting to know the new characters was really interesting as you think you know it all after the chaotically toxic family reveals in the previous book but apparently that wasn’t enough. I really liked how all the storylines were linked together and I am especially curious about that ending. I do wonder if there is a third book in the works - I certainly wouldn’t complain if there was!! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Alcohol

pippamillerxoxo_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Confinement and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol